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da betsul： Gary Neville was once widely regarded as one of the game’s best full-backs and is now considered among its’ best pundits as he talks tactics for Sky Sports on a regular basis, but his interesting comments on Dele Alli may raise a few eyebrows in the days to come.
What’s been said?
Well, speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show, the 43-year-old expressed his unique vision of what the Spurs man can become as he continues to develop, saying:
“What I would say on Dele Alli is, in my view he will evolve, he will change, I think he could end up in central midfield”.
“I think he could end up controlling the game, I think he could end up being a good passer of the ball”.
“So you think about first to the tackle, second balls, things that would be the ugly side of the game, Dele Alli can do that”.
“Look, Roy Keane is the most influential player I ever played with but I think Dele Alli has got that in him”.
Could it happen?
Firstly, it’s important to remember that Alli used to be an enforcer with MK Dons before his switch to White Hart Lane in 2015, where Mauricio Pochettino and co have since converted him to an attacking midfielder, so the 22-year-old does know what the role requires.
The number 20 does have a tendency, also, to dip into the dark arts in his game and his intensity and aggression can, depending on how he uses it, be a huge asset or a detriment to his team – the exact same can be said of Keane, there is no doubt.
Naturally, his positional sense and tackling will need quite some work if he is to become of the Manchester United great’s calibre, but the England international has bags of technical ability that were missing from Keane’s game – this will may enable him to control the game in a slightly different way.
A look back at what is surely Spurs’ best performance of the season – when they beat Chelsea 3-1 in November – shows Alli’s importance to the disruption of Sarri’s plans. He was instrumental in shutting down Jorginho and was able to pick the ball up in a deep position before releasing Son Heung-Min on the counter – this is where they created most of their chances and goals.
With Mousa Dembele rapidly waning, Victor Wanyama surely deemed surplus to requirements, as well as the fact that Pochettino already has a plethora of attacking midfielders at his disposal, does it make more sense to go back on what he has tried to do with the £90m-valued star thus far by deploying him in the position he was playing when they signed him three years ago?
Ballon d’Or Luka Modric has proved that a simple shift in position can help turn a good player into a world-class talent – the Croatian recently credited Harry Redknapp for utilising him as an attacking midfielder when he was naturally a more defensive operator – could a similar switch for Alli prove similarly career-changing?
Albeit risky, there certainly seems to be a solid argument behind Neville’s idea. What do you think Spurs fans? Could Dele Alli be an even better player if he was to play a bit deeper? Let us know in the poll below.
Playmaker FC’s Theo Ogden was at Wembley to witness Spurs’ dramatic second half comeback against PSV. Watch the drama unfold in the video below…